Auburn almost bounced back from a disappointing Iron Bowl in a big way. The Tigers had a 20-14 lead over No. 5 Texas A&M before the Aggies rallied for a 17-0 fourth quarter, coming away with a 31-20 win.
The loss drops AU to 5-4 on the season with a game at Mississippi State remaining on the schedule. After the game, Gus Malzahn discussed the Tigers’ struggles, the disappointment of losing on Senior Day, sophomore QB Bo Nix’s performance and more.
Reporters on The Plains shared the highlights of Malzahn’s postgame press conference:
Gus Malzahn congratulates Texas A&M on the win and says he's disappointed they couldn't send the seniors off with a win at JHS.
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) December 5, 2020
Auburn HC Gus Malzahn: "We couldn't stop the run. We couldn't get off the field, and they kept the ball away. Offensively, we got in a good rhythm in the second and third quarters… you've gotta score touchdowns against a top team."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) December 5, 2020
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn: "When you're playing one of the top teams in the country and you get in the red zone, you got to score touchdowns, and we kicked two field goals.
"We just didn't get it done."
— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) December 5, 2020
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn: "I thought our quarterback showed a lot of guts. I thought he played real well … We just didn't get it done."
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) December 5, 2020
What was wrong with the defense?
Gus Malzahn: "It was pretty simple: We couldn't stop them."
— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) December 5, 2020
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn on QB Bo Nix: "He's a great competitor, and I thought he did some real good things today"
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) December 5, 2020
Gus Malzahn on #Auburn's fourth-quarter faceplant: "The three-and-outs were tough. … In a big game like that, we have to be able to execute when the game's on the line."
— Nathan King (@NathanKing247) December 5, 2020
Gus Malzahn on Zakoby McClain's missed interception: "The game flipped from one extreme to the other."
— Josh Vitale (@JoshVitale) December 5, 2020
Gus Malzahn: "We've been pretty good in those must-stop situations all year… but today we weren't."
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) December 5, 2020
"If we'd played well, we could have beat them… They made the plays in the fourth quarter, and we didn't," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
— Giana Han (@giana_jade) December 5, 2020
Gus Malzahn: "Obviously, we're not happy we weren't able to beat one of these ranked teams."
Auburn lost to (currently) No. 8 Georgia, No. 1 Alabama and No. 5 Texas A&M this season.
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) December 5, 2020
Auburn HC Gus Malzahn on the goal now: "6-4, that's what it will be. If we had a normal nonconference schedule, that's a solid year… Obviously, we're not happy that we weren't able to beat one of these ranked teams."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonAU) December 5, 2020
"I think if (Tank Bigsby) would have been healthy, he would have housed that (42-yard run)," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
— Giana Han (@giana_jade) December 5, 2020
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
